Melting Point
by CuteMcBeauty
Summary: A week after defeating the new Storybrooke Ice Age and nearly dying a frozen death in the process, Emma casually finds a letter Killian wrote after the event, a letter she was never meant to see. Shameless CS fluff. Oneshot.
1. Killian's letter

Emma sang a merry little tune as she dusted the surfaces of her new apartment. She was just glad to be alive; she nearly hadn't survived the massive freeze-out, especially after coming face to face with Elsa and Anna's mother, the one and only Ice Queen. Elsa hadn't been too bad; she was just rather emotional. And once she had her sister with her, it was all right as rain and her entire entourage had been safely delivered back to Arendelle.

But... it had almost taken her life.

There had been a brief moment where she was hit head on to her chest by the cold thrash of ice and Emma was without breath for all of ten minutes. Thank god for the lowly pirate boyfriend of hers, or she would have been a goner. She had pretty much taken the hit for him: Being the savior gave her higher chances of surviving, but Killian would not have made it. As great a fighter that he was, he lacked in magical prowess entirely and was far more vulnerable than Emma. Nonetheless, it took a huge kiss and a lot of tears and love on his part to completely defrost her. And the only reason True Love had worked was basically because of her action: Taking a mortal hit is the highest, most unbeatable demonstration of love.

That, together with the heartache he had shown, was enough to bring the chill factor down and Emma regained breath and life.

She sighed complacently; there were still a few snowflakes falling from the sky. It was normally cool in Storybrooke and it would take a while for the massive amounts of snow and ice to completely disappear, but this was something manageable. She grinned as she leaned on the window frame, thinking about him... again.

It was easy to lose herself in him these days. All the more, it was amazing that she hadn't done so before. He was impossible to resist these days. And the bond that had started as just some wise-ass know-it-all's guessing game had apparently evolved into, of all things, true love, strong enough to bring her back from the brink and thwart a frozen heart.

God bless her Pirate Captain.

He had gone out, of all things, for ice-cream. In spite of the cold, he had grown really fond of chocolate chip and mint ice cream and whenever Killian got an ice-cream craving it was rather hard to keep him from quenching it.

He'd bring back one Rocky-Road for her and one Cherry Garcia for Henry too. He never forgot. Not these days.

She drew another heavy sigh and leaned her hand on the back of the armchair, her gaze nostalgically drawn to the top of the clock tower that crowned the library.

She felt on the tips of her fingers what looked like a folded paper. With a frown, she looked in the direction of her hand as she dislodged the creased paper from the back of the couch.

"What the hell?" She whispered, as she unfolded it.

The penmanship was exquisite, like old parchment from another century.

There was only one person she knew who would probably have that particular handwriting; basically the only person in Storybrooke pertaining from over a century behind: Her boyfriend.

She took her time to read the contents of what was obviously a letter, addressed to her.

_To my most beautiful Emma:_

_It is hard to convey in spoken words what I feel; it always has been. You'll understand this, my love, since you are most the same as I in that particular sense. However, it seems to me that the written word serves as a floodgate, where it becomes far easier for me to be a tad more jocular with what resides within the walls of my heart. So here's to the hope that you might never read this and see this wayward pirate of yours to be feeble and dainty, which is what I really am, in spite of my satirical, derisive facade._

_I have never before in my entire life, Swan, felt the hollowness of a loss near as terribly as the moment you froze before me, my love. I am no stranger to loss: My darling brother, the man who saw to my health and shelter after our father left us, my only family... that was fairly bad on its own. His death was the trigger that led me into the unyielding fate of piracy. Milah, the pirate lady that stole my heart just as much as I stole hers... only to have it crushed by The Dark One before my very ached gaze... Nameless friends from my crew lost to the whims of time, the ocean and the self-centered vagary of their relentless, revenge-bent Captain. Oh, yes, my darling Swan, I've lived longer than most and have sadly bid far too many farewells, more than any man should endure. But in spite of the deep love I have felt for each person that has left my life, nothing could compare to the minutes I thought you lost._

_You were stone frozen, Swan. Solid as a rock. And so was my heart. I begged, prayed for a sudden thunderbolt to take me then, to finish off my pitiful, wretched existence. Without you as the lighthouse that led this wanderlust ship back into the light of love from a foggy ocean of dread and loathsome consumption, I am nothing Emma. You are, and have been from the very first moment I gazed upon you, the angel that guided me back to being Killian Jones the man, and slowly further and further away from Captain Hook the Pirate. But touching your face and feeling the frost crumble off from your gaunt cheeks, lass, that was enough to darken me once more, to put a lid beneath the sun and stop all hope and every dream from taking part in my life._

_I thought you dead, my love. And as soon as that thought struck me, I thought me dead as well._

_Gladly, not long after, you slowly came back to me, to my arms, to my warmth... and I was once again blessed with another day by your side. Never in the history of humanity in every realm has any man felt such a vast amount of relief flood his soul._

_I have fought many tides and outrun many a storm (even a curse, mind you) to be your constant guard, to share the very space you walk upon and to have the privilege of fighting for your heart, like I promised I would. I endured the chilled distance you set between us, Swan, time after time, always in the hope that one day, per chance, you'd see me for a man of honor, a man of his word, and not, as Pan had so eloquently put it, a "one-handed pirate with a drinking problem". In all gladness, I was fated to indeed win your heart and had the honor of bringing down that wall of yours, a wall that tried to conceal what I had long seen in you: The most beautiful soul in this world. And since I am not a man to recant from his word, know this, my darling lass: Should you have remained still frozen and cold, should your life have expired then, rest assured Swan, I would have followed, for it was my promise to be at your side, every waking moment, whether it be in this life or the next. For you see, Emma, I'd sooner die and leave this world by your side than to face another human age on my own. I have tasted the delectable libation that is true love's kiss from the lips of none other than the savior, and I cannot (will not) be the same, ever again._

_I write this now, my dear, in hopes that you will never read it and see me as the weakling I felt myself to be that instant, for I know you seek someone who will not falter, who will stand by you regardless of the storm and winds, who will never yield before any foe and who you know you can rely on, regardless of the adversity. I am that man, Emma Swan. I am the one who will never, ever leave your side, unless you ask it of me. Rest assured, there is no small amount of danger enough to keep me from you... for no other man in this universe or the next can and will love you more than I._

_Yours in eternal gratitude, love and relief, _

_Your Killian._

It took Emma a few minutes to see past the tears in her eyes and find the dark gaze of her new love, holding his wares in his hand, his face flushed in reds, gazing awkwardly at the floor.

He swallowed. "I... was supposed to burn that. You didn't have to... You weren't supposed... to..."

"Oh, Killian..." A teary Emma stood and walked to him, holding him tight.

No words were enough to convey the sheer amount of love and gratitude she felt for her captain. He had pretty much stirred the course of her life much as he had stirred hers, but she had never really stopped to think for a second just how terrible those few minutes had been for him. She could see herself in that letter, had it been him. She had, after all, taken the frosty curse for him.

"I know you didn't want me to see that... I just... found it." She sniffed into his chest. "I had no idea... Killian... I."

He sighed and she felt his arms wrap around her, the cold pint of ice cream in a plastic bag hanging from his hook and pressed against her back, sending a cold chill down her spine.

She looked into his eyes, her own wet with tears, and she sighed. "You really think I'd want you to die so you could be with me?"

"I know you wouldn't..." He mumbled sheepishly. "But I wouldn't want to stay behind, either, love. "He shook his head, still feeling terribly embarrassed. "Where did you find that awful letter anyway, Swan?"

She frowned. "Behind the couch... and are your true feelings for me really AWFUL to you, Killian?" She sniffed hard.

"That's not what I meant." He mumbled.

She grinned and hugged him again. "No one had ever written a love letter for me before. I don't care what you say, that was just... beautiful."

He chuckled weakly. "I didn't want you to think of me as some sort of sentimental effeminate."

Emma giggled. "I suppose I could expect a little eighteen century chauvinism, you can't help it, can you?" She squeezed him hard. "I love you to shreds, you know that?"

Killian grinned at the fresh and casual tone she used. "I suppose you won't allow me to burn that wretched letter now..."

"Not on your life."

He sighed and rocked her from side to side. "Don't tell your father."

She laughed hard. "I won't. I wouldn't want to. This is mine."

He grinned and kissed the crown of her head. "If the lady asks... and now, let's just eat this thing before it melts."

"You have a way of melting things... you melted me!"

"So glad that went down that way."


	2. Emma's letter

**know I said it would be a one shot, but the reaction to this as well as a couple of very friendly PM's encouraged me to do a part two. AND THAT'S ALL.**

She had to do something, anything, for him. Hell when the heck was his birthday anyway? And how old exactly was he? He looked thirty-ish; but his biological age was one thing while the chronological was another. If she were to celebrate a birthday for him, how many candles would his cake have? Was there even a cake large enough to harbor three hundred and something candles?

When Killian had once stated that he remembered little about his birthdate but that it was within the constellation of Leo, she knew it had to be somewhere between late July and mid August, so that narrowed it down a little. He later stated that in his realm, there was a massive change of tide just a day or two before his birthday. Emma had no clue what to do with that, so after asking around, Grumpy assured that there were some pretty extravagant tide swells in the south shore of the enchanted Forest, in the equivalent of the days between the 27th of July and August 1st.

So she settled for the 29th. Yep. That would be his birthday.

And the day was drawing near.

She paid a visit to Dr. Whale; he had pretty much a file on everyone in Storybrooke, so it was imperative that he probably had a better idea of how old Killian was biologically. From Killian's dental records (a visitation he had hated with every fiber of his soul), he calculated an average between 35 and 40, but that most likely he was in the vicinity of 37. For good measure, Emma settled for him turning 37 and not 38. Or maybe she'd just tell him he was 36.

'_Like he'd give a damn about being older…'_ she thought to her own amusement. Having lived so many years…

Nonetheless, she got herself up early that day and was instantly on her feet. She had something special planned for her centuries old pirate boyfriend.

Her father had agreed to ask Killian to join him on a fishing expedition and as a thoroughbred sea man, he was unable to decline. Any kind of contact with the ocean was a welcome situation in his book. Besides, he could very well use the chance to… bond. Yeah. Bond. She had actually said it, just like that, to her father. Because? Killian Jones was a permanent asset in her life, and the sooner he made peace with that, the better. In all truth, David really didn0't have much of a problem with the Captian any longer, but it was still fun to poke fun at him: For the hook, for his age, for his guy-liner, for his complete naiveté when it came to modern Storybrooke technology… he'd never miss a chance. Not that Killian couldn't hold his own when sass and sarcasm was concerned.

So they were set for a fun day full of jabs and gnarl and…. Bonding.

Emma cleaned up the house in the meantime… thoroughly. And she set up his surprise.

And what a surprise it would be.

It was kind of warm outside. No… it was really damn hot. She pictured what hellish feeling he may have had, had he still be wearing his leathers… and instantly grinned, knowing that the only reason he continuously wore them was because they were the only clothes he had after he had given up the Jolly for her. With a smart grin, she sighed and went on with her surprise.

At exactly six, David drove Killian home.

The Pirate was met with a large cardboard sign. "FOLLOW THE ARROWS, KILLIAN. LOVE, SWAN."

"Wait…" He sneered and looked around to find that the arrows were smartly cut out in greens and pinks and taped to the floor. He smirked and shook his head. "Emma, what the bloody hell are you up to?"

Still he followed up the stairs. And to the left. He frowned, realizing that the apartment they shared was to the right on the third floor. Still he went with the gimmick.

And up to the roof garden.

Sitting in a table was a large sign on a table by his old spyglass. He walked over and placed his hackle box on the floor before reading the sign. "LOOK TO THE WINDOW OF THE ICE CREAM PARLOR AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. SWAN"

He clucked his tongue and rolled his eyes, but was actually quite amused. He pulled the spyglass to its full length and turned to look, to see yet another neon-colored cardboard sign. "Oh you conniving woman…" he smiled after reading.

"GET DOWN HERE AND BRING YOUR SPYGLASS. SWAN."

He huffed and grinned, making way down the stairs with a happy pace and whistling. Actually whistling.

He reached the window of the parlor and looked inside, where the ice cream girl handed him a small letter. "GOOD, YOU'RE SMART! NOW GO DOWN MAIN, TURN LEFT AFTER THREE BLOCKS AND FOLLOW GRANNY'S INSTRUCTIONS. SEE HOW GOOD A PIRATE YOU REALLY ARE. LOVE, EMMA. PS: THERE'S A MINT CHIP ICE CREAM FOR YOU HERE, AS A REWARD. MY TREAT. "

The ice-cream girl giggled; she always giggled whenever Killian stepped into her shop. She handed the still awkward and unsuspecting yet incredibly amused pirate a cone of his favorite desert, to which he nodded a winky thank you, leaving her to swoon as he made his way out the door.

"Good pirate… like she didn't bloody know…" He growled, licking on his cone as he paced to Granny's.

Upon reaching the diner, the old lady that ran it rolled her eyes and handed him a rolled up piece of what looked like old parchment and another note. Killian eyed her questioningly and Granny shrugged and huffed. "Don' ask me, Cap'n, I only run the joint."

Killian giggled and opened the note.

"AHOY CAPTAIN! FOLLOW THE MAP. YOU ARE AN AVID AND LEGENDARY TREASURE HUNTER, I'M SURE YOU'LL MANAGE. X MARKS THE SPOT! SWAN."

That got a sound and healthy laugh from Killian as he unrolled the scroll.

The smile on his face was undeniably large as he shook his head. "You're an amateur, my love…" he giggled to himself as he followed the map's instructions: _'Twenty large steps to the back of the diner, out the back and into the Beetle. Drive one block , turn left, back to Maine, seven hundred paces to the hospital. Stop the vehicle, descend and seek out the front desk nurse named Daisy for the key to the treasure.'_

Killian shook his head and followed the instructions to the tee; given his driving skills were still rather primeval, he chose to actually run the distance. It's not like it was that far, anyway, but still, under the summer heat, by the time he reached the hospital, he reopened his map, looking for the name of the nurse he was supposed to find.

"Daisy…" He huffed and stepped in, still panting.

When he reached the front desk, a rather thing and young looking girl greeted him with a smile. "Made it so far, I see…"

Killian ran a hand through his now sweaty hair. "And, I take it you're Daisy." He nodded. "I believe you've something for me."

"Oh, I do indeed." She smiled and gave him a large envelope. "You are not to look at the contents of this thing until you reach the final place. X marks the spot… You got it?"

"Just what did Swan give you for your complicity in this stratagem, love?" he smiled.

"Oh, not half as much as you'll be getting, Mr. Hook." She grinned. "Go on, follow the trail. Have a nice afternoon!"

Killian sighed and walked back out. What was he to do next?

He un rolled the parchment and frowned: the whole map had changed. Emma had apparently put some sort of moving spell and the whole scheme had now changed. "Bad form, Swan, that's cheating…" He shook his head as some fine print appeared at the bottom. _'You're holding the map upside down now, dummy. Love, Emma."_

That got another healthy cackle from Hook as he turned the map in his hands. He looked at the newly positioned layout and found that the X sat exactly back at the building they called home.

He took a bus this time.

By the time he reached the home he and Emma shared, it was getting dark. Upon reaching the building, he noticed that the original arrows had been replaced by what he could only assume were other newer paper cuts with what he thought was a magical spell; in all truth, they were just glow in the dark.

He followed them back to the rooftop where his spyglass had sat earlier, and found the table to be covered by a large red X… and on top of it all, a small letter, in a white little envelope that read his name. He was surrounded by no less than at least a hundred lit candles.

He sighed, picked it up and opened it.

"YOU HAVE JUST HIT TREASURE, CAPTAIN JONES! PLEASE OPEN THE LARGE ENVELOPE NURSE DAISY HANDED YOU TODAY TO COLLECT A PRIZE GRANDER THAN ALL THE GOLD IN THE WORLD."

He huffed with a grin and sat on the small wicker bench that overlooked the beach, as he pulled out a rather large, brown colored photograph of what looked like… a cake.

"What the blazes is this?"

He frowned and looked at the image, confused, as he scratched the back of his ear. He turned the large photograph around and found a long letter in Emma's handwriting.

_Killian:_

_I have never in my life been able to say the kind of things I feel I have to say to you now. So like you did with your letter after the whole 'Elsa' thing, I am practically stealing your idea for a written confession. So bear with me, pirate, I'm doing the best I can, especially in light of the fact that I lack the amazingly beautiful flair with words you possess. _

_Neither one of us has had an easy ride and we both know it, but day in and day out, you've stuck by me like there was no tomorrow. We've known each other for three years now and have survived innumerable dangers and yet you have managed to not only come back from the darkness that was your life, but to make my own life a lighter, happier place to be. It doesn't matter how strayed or skewed my feelings are, you somehow manage to set me straight every time. You are always behind me, good and bad times alike, and for that, I have never said to you how much I thank you. It gets hard to say it when you're used to withholding your own emotions for fear of putting them out there and getting hurt. _

_Yet, you never seem to. You are as loyal and loving as they come, Killian… sometimes I feel I don't deserve you, and even then, you tell me that I do (because you're so 'devilishly handsome' and we totally belong together, you sassy, cocky, mouthy son of a bitch, I love you to death). _

_I grew up alone, Killian. I never, ever expected to find my family, because heck, why would a bunch of people who got rid of me in the first place, ever want to see me again, right? Yet, I was so wrong; they did the best they could to ensure my safety and the breaking of a terrible curse. And like it was with them, I never thought there would ever be a man in my life who would do the things you do: cross realms, breach oceans, sell their homes for a petty little bean just to be with me… And I can't help but say that I love you all very, very much for everything. It's wonderful (and sometimes really unfamiliar but still cool) to feel so loved, so cherished and so happy._

_So here's to our very own happy ending Jones, hope you're sitting down: After vigorous and not too shallow research I have finally narrowed the date of your birth to… well, today. So, happy birthday, baby! I encourage you not to think too hard about the amount of years you have lived, because I consulted with a damn good doctor and he claims that you're no older than 36, so screw the other 310 years; moot point, you were in Neverland, so they don't count. As for your birthday present, well, there's a party waiting for you back in the apartment… but the real deal is my personal gift for you:_

_Like I told you, pirate, X marks the spot! You struck gold: I am two months pregnant, Killian. You will be a father, and I hope and pray to god I am every bit the mother I failed to be for Henry, although I'm sure that with you by my side, I will be. You never let me falter, so I am not at all worried._

_That's it. That's the 'greater than gold' treasure you just dug out, and I hope you are happy with it, because God knows I am._

_See you downstairs! And a happy birthday to you Hook! I love you more than words can or ever will convey and I hope you remain by my side until we're both too old to even remember our own names._

_All my love, always,_

_Your Emma._

_PS: Never leave me; you are my family, my foundation and my whole world. I love you more than you can possibly begin to imagine. Happy birthday, Killian, and here's to (hopefully) many more birthdays together!_

Killian had forgotten to breathe and it became evident that he needed oxygen like every other human being when he suddenly gasped. He hadn't noticed the tears in his eyes until he felt them rolling down his cheeks. "Emma…" he managed to sob with a smile before standing up and just dashing down to his party.

The door swung open and a whole room-full of people erupted in a wild "Happy Birthday" cheer (and even David was there, the cheeky bastard. He was in on it?). Standing in the middle, dressed in a small red dress, was his Emma, smiling a full smile and fighting hard not to shed the tears that were making her eyes shine like stars.

Photograph in hand, he made a beeline to her and just crushed her in his arms as she held him back. After hungrily pressing his lips to hers and oblivious to the surrounding mayhem, he spoke to her ear. "Is it true, love? Are we…?"

"We are…. " She spoke back.

"I am to become a father, then?"

"Yep." She held him at arm's length. "Seems fitting… you've done so much for me…"

"And yet, you keep doing more for me as well, Swan, I can't …" he sniffed in pure joy. "I love you so bloody much… A child! Gods, what… Emma…"

She chuckled, looking into the pools of his blue eyes. "And I love you too. Come on…" she pulled him into the crowds. "It is your party."

He nodded contently and dried his tears before speaking into her ear. "Do your parents know yet?"

"Nope…"

"Are we sure your father won't have my other hand for this? What with us not being married and all that, he'd think it's bad form…" He swallowed. "Perhaps we should…"

"That's for MY birthday next week, Jones, don't push it."

He laughed. "Fine darling…" He kissed her cheek. "And no…"

"No what?"

He kissed her cheek. "I will never leave you, love."


End file.
